Jaded View of the Jewel
by CaramelDeLite
Summary: The favored Protégé of Catwoman is gaining fame as a high ranking thief. Pleased at the fact that her name is spreading, Raven continues the life of a thief. Until she doubts herself.
1. chapter 1

Chapter 1 Taking inanimate objects is more my thing...

 **(Disclaimer) _I'd rather not get my pants sued off, so here's my disclaimer. I do not own the characters. They all belong to their rightful owners._**

~*Raven*~

Half smiling under her hood, Raven clenched the jewel in her hand. Slipping it underneath her cloak, she returned to the unexpected person who decided to join her in the burglary. Turning to smirk at the figure on the floor, she regarded him with practiced indifference.

"Who are you working for?" Crouching low, she stared long and hard at the mask covering his face. Her fingers twitched; knowing that she could easily remove it and find out who this mysterious person was.

As tempting as that sounded, she wouldn't. She was a skilled thief, and to add to the delightful mix, one with morals. The figure moved to sit up, grunting with the effort. While struggling to sit, his head was always turned her way, watching her movements.

"No one you would know." His voice modulator distorted his true voice, but didn't cover up the pain in his words.

Sighing, she felt the coldness of her dagger slide into her hand. Slipping a hand near his neck she tugged at the fabric, causing curses to fly from the man's mouth. Revealing the all too vulnerable skin of his throat, she pressed the dagger against his throat.

"I'd rather not add a new scar to your already vast collection." She murmured, quiet and dangerous in her demeanor.

Uniform torn in the front, from a slash she had made. It was clear he was not expecting competition. He had most likely come here shortly after he made his decision on taking the job. Thinking nothing of being attacked by a fellow thief. Dressed in simple black clothing and a mask.

Well, kudos to him because Raven hadn't gone entirely unscathed either. Feeling the pain and sticky liquid that came along with the cut from her forehead, she frowned. Resisting the urge to wipe it away. The only blood drawn, the rest were bruises she would see transform into colors she shouldn't.

She hadn't expected to see a map of scars across his chest, more distracting than his fine physique. He taken the chance to land a kick to her leg, unbalancing her enough for her to stumble momentarily.

With a small quirk of her lips, she teleported behind him and dealt him a blow to the head. Passing out, she used the minutes until he woke to finish retrieving her appointed assignment. No doubt he wore a confused expression under that hood of his. The masked figure was well trained, no argument there.

As the dagger dug deeper into his skin he flinched, drawing blood. A startled, slight gasp escaped Raven as a hand whipped down her hood. Scowling she relented her hold on the dagger before harshly tugging the mask upward until it was completely off.

"Who are you...?" Eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the room, grin now uncovered for amethyst eyes to cautiously study.

"You'll find out soon enough." Seeing his wrist flick, Raven moved her daggered hand to still his movements. Too late, a muffled protest came behind a red x. More followed and she squirmed to free herself from the restrictive grasp of his surprisingly effective weapons.

No, he hadn't known much of anything about her fighting capabilities. But she had been a fool to underestimate his own. Now she was paying the price.

The indignant muffled curse was clear when the grinning thief's hand snuck under her cloak to grip the treasured jewel. Withdrawing it, he tapped the tape on her mouth before winking as he left.

 ** _Find me on Wattpad as Caramel_De_Lite_**


	2. Second Chapter

Chapter 2 "A nice thank you would suffice."

 **Disclaimer : Don't own the characters and all that jazz.**

~*Raven*~

As soon as Jinx pried off the last red x on her upper body, Raven sat up. Reaching up, she took it upon herself to rip it off. Acknowledging the pain with a slight wince, she half glared at Jinx.

"You could have started with the one covering my mouth." She pointed out wryly. Jinx shrugged before replying.

"A nice and simple thank you would suffice."

"Thank you for what?"

Jinx let a small laugh escape, "For helping you out of this sticky situation." Raven couldn't help but smile slightly in response.

Jinx's expression grew serious, mouth a firm, hard line.

"What went wrong?"

Raven sighed in frustration at the question.

"Don't pretend like you weren't going to duke it out with which ever one of us came out with the jewel." Her eyes took on a dim shade of white for a moment. Feeling the betrayal.

The wicked grin the pink haired girl wore now was almost catlike. Reminding her of Cheshire. The grin was also too easy to see through. Calculative eyes, already scanning her for injuries. Seeing if she could take Raven in a fight. Truly, Jinx was now his apprentice.

"Of all the people to work under, and you two chose Slade. Of all the people." Raven looked around for a blonde head, wondering where Jinx's partner in crime was. Terra.

Jinx simply cocks her head to the side, expression curious.

"Funny you judge me for who I chose. Catwoman doesn't have a pristine slate either!" Her eyes glimmered a bright pink for a moment too long to be comfortable.

Raven resisted the urge to roll her eyes skyward and instead settled on a sardonic half smile. "There's quite a large margin between being a thief, and being a killer."

"Awfully righteous words for someone planning to kidnap a royal!" Jinx sneered, eyes glowing, fists clenched.

Stiffening, Raven turned toward Jinx, eyes questioning.

"Not many jobs are exclusive. Certainly not this one." Sensing the slight anger behind the words, Raven raised an eyebrow.

"You overheard a conversation," Judging by Jinx's annoyed expression she was correct. Or close to it.

"It was offered to Slade." Jinx nodded to confirm Raven's silent question. Definitely a high profile case if the client went straight to Slade, the head assassin. He didn't want to chance it with anyone less skilled than Slade.

Why would it be offered to her though? Yes, Raven was the thief to go to, after Seline of course. A high profile case such as this seemed to solidify her rank. She expected to feel satisfied but just felt a small twinge of something she couldn't quite identify.

Needing answers, she didn't bother with a half-hearted goodbye to her former friend.

Raven made sure to keep her steps light and silent as she stepped into the room Catwoman occupied. Sure, she could have teleported into the room, or levitated. But what was the fun in that? Selina also disapproved of Raven relying solely on her powers. These recent months she had kept her magic use to the minimal and focused on improving her physical condition and fighting skills. Even with these months of practice, Selina's admiring gaze for the diamond she held soon turned to her.

"Oh little birdie, I know you're not here for the jewels," Selina gestured toward the dazzling treasures around her, while speaking in her sultry tone.

"I'm not, no." Raven aimed a questioning look at her mentor, who only fell into the façade she was currently using when she was in strange company.

"No, she most simply doesn't seem like the type. I can see why you've recruited her." A quiet voice penetrated the few moments of silence that had instilled after Raven's reply.

Slowly, so as to not appear utterly startled, Raven turned to the man who she had previously failed to see.

Dressed in easily recognizable armor, Raven stood in place. Gaze held by the narrowed eye.

"Raven," He nodded in mock politeness, while he seemed to leer at her beneath his mask. Studying her to see any visible weaknesses.

"Slade," Raven snarled pleasantly, as if such a thing were possible.


	3. Third Chapter

Chapter 3 The agreement

 **Disclaimer : Characters do not belong to me -** **sigh-**

~*Raven*~

Catwoman's laughter interrupted the silent dispute between Slade and Raven. No blows to be dealt, or words to be harshly ground out. Just cold glares meant to make the other shiver in discomfort.

Neither were satisfied with the others look of nonchalance.

Raven knew Selina's attempt at distraction was for her benefit. One she reluctantly took as she softened her eyes when she glanced at Selina.

The Cat discreetly gave Raven a knowing glance as a second figure strode into the room confidently.

Upon setting her gaze on the seemingly welcome guest, Raven knew it was him. The boy who was the cause of her irritation with herself. Seeing her bristle, the boy snickered quietly. He was soon silenced by the scalding look his Master sent him.

Raven felt a silly sort of satisfaction at watching the boy get scolded. She used the word 'boy' loosely, seeing as he had a good few inches on her. Corded muscles slightly flexing as he crossed his arms. He was around her age, most likely having seen eighteen years. Differing from her seventeen. His suit was fixed to match his Master's, the mask resembling a skull with a red x over the right eye gone.

Catwoman herself didn't quite care on the attire Raven chose to wear. In the beginning, she had had a cat suit prepared for Raven to wear. Nearly identical to the older woman's. That had changed when she had been mistaken for Selina.

Late to deliver a package to a client, Raven had cursed her luck as rain started pouring. Lightning illuminated her surroundings in a startling flash. A dark figure slipped around a corner, as Raven turned to look.

Raven slipped into a dark alley way, trying to shake her unidentified stalker. She figured they, at the very least would have enough sense not to follow. Dark alley ways were practically the epitome of places not to lurk if you didn't want trouble.

Later, she would learn, that's exactly what it was.

As arms wound themselves around her waist, her package tumbled out of her arms. Eyes wide with shock, she let out a strangled gasp, jumping into action. Sinking into the ground, she materialized behind her assailant and fled. Package left behind for them to find. At the age of fourteen, the encounter had been terrifying. Would he have defiled her? All these thoughts were soon put to a stop though.

As Raven had recounted the story to her mentor, she could have sworn she saw pink tinge Selina's cheeks. Catwoman casually asked exactly where it was where this occurred. Now, Raven knew this was a rendezvous point for both the Cat and the Bat to meet. For what, she didn't say, but Raven had an idea.

Now that she thought back to the moment, the man's grasp hadn't been tight, or restrictive. A tender embrace was the more accurate description. Raven had wanted to remind Selina of all the things she was risking to meet up with him, but stayed silent when she noticed the sad look in Selina's eyes.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Raven had come back to reality in time for introductions.

"This is one of my many apprentices," Slade faintly gestured toward the boy, "Red X." Catwoman voiced her approval as she glanced him over. She soon preceded to introduce Raven. Red X only cocked his head to the side, eyes probably scanning her to see how her name was connected. Perhaps Raven should adopt a mask, really obscured sometimes facial features.

Slade and Selina seemed to come to an agreement at the same moment. A single nod of their heads and they soon turned to their apprentices.

"You will both be working together to bring the pampered Prince to us." Catwoman just backed up his statement with a serious nod.

Why was she agreeing to this? Prince Richard Grayson was her lover's son. If the dangerous glint to her eyes wasn't hint enough, something had gone wrong. What exactly? Raven knew she didn't need the details to know it was something bad if her mentor was going to these measures for revenge.

Red X sunk to his knees, bowed down in his apparent agreement to his Master's statement. Feeling gloved fingers dig into her shoulder, she was forced onto her knees. Feeling anger bubble to the surface, Raven clamped down on it and chose to stay kneeling. If this agreement was going to work, she'd have to give up some ground. As Raven glanced up, she saw Selina throw a threatening glare at Slade.

Tensing to grab the crossbow at his back, they both drew their weapons at the same time. Catwoman's whip coiled expertly around his ankle, a slight movement of the wrist, and he would be sent sprawling. Crossbow held steadily, aiming at Selina's chest.

Red X saw this and quickly whipped out a red x, ready to assist his Master.

Huh, well this certainly wasn't a done deal.


End file.
